Monthly Archives: April 2011

Friday Buffet

I didn’t see the 7-11 episode of Undercover Boss, but it’s nice to hear that an employee throwing out doughnuts peeved said incognito CEO. — — As the playoffs are in full swing, the NHL is still recovering food league-wide. And still getting EPA recognition. — — NYC and composting: Not a Love a Story — […]

April 29, 2011 | Posted in Composting, Events, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

Healing Hospital Waste

Hospitals are going to waste a lot of food. They just are. Hospitals must provide patients with the required amount of food, even when they have little or no appetite. That ingrained plate waste is a major disadvantage for hospitals. But that doesn’t mean they can’t reduce their waste. Two hospitals in La Crosse, Wis., […]

April 26, 2011 | Posted in Institutional | Comments closed

E-day

Here’s a brief Earth Day message from me to you: Don’t waste food! Producing most of our food taxes our environment. The least we can do is eat what we buy. Nuff said. Now get outside and enjoy the day!

April 22, 2011 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Q & A: NHL’s Green Guru

The National Hockey League is the only major sports league with all of its teams participating in stadium food recovery. Bernadette Mansur, the NHL’s senior VP of public affairs, helped launch the NHL Green Initiative in 2010. To find out how the Green initiative came to include its league-wide food recovery program, I spoke with Mansur: […]

April 21, 2011 | Posted in Events, Food Recovery, Q & A | Comments closed

Britain Bids Adieu to ‘Best Before’

Environment Minister Hilary Benn hinted at it when we spoke in 2009. One minister and two years later, it looks set to happen: The British government has advised food retailers to scrap some date labels because they cause confusion, and ultimately, waste. After consulting with food makers and sellers, the government has recommended that retailers phase […]

April 19, 2011 | Posted in International, Supermarket | Comments closed

Expiration Attention

I’m traveling now, but wanted to highlight this article on expiration dates that ran this week in The Boston Globe. I don’t recall such a detailed look at the topic in a major newspaper. The food waste awareness is mounting…

April 15, 2011 | Posted in Food Safety, Household | Comments closed

BioCycling

It’s neat to find a conference attracting practitioners of composting, anaerobic digestion, and other organic recycling schemes. BioCycle’s Global 2011 in San Diego is just that. There’s plenty of talk of separating organics from the waste stream, air emissions from composting, and the carbon cap-and-trade system. There was even a very public debate about land […]

April 13, 2011 | Posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Composting, Events, Food Recovery | Comments closed

Notre Trays

I gave a talk on Notre Dame on Thursday and, as part of the visit, got to meet with a few friendly members of the school-run dining services. I was impressed to hear that a student led initiative had halved per student wastage in one month. And that two local shelters collect food from their […]

April 11, 2011 | Posted in College, Trayless | Comments closed

Sharing Local Food

We all love farmers’ markets. Well, here’s one more reason to do so: using markets as a vehicle to feed the hungry and avoid waste. Farmer Foodshare does just that. Launched in 2009 in Carrboro, N.C., the volunteer-based operation harnesses generosity by collecting end-of-market excess from growers and accepting shopper donations. Those donations come in […]

April 6, 2011 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Monday Buffet

In Denmark, The Veterinary and Food Administration may change a law that bans selling food past its “best-by” date. Stores would be in charge of determining how long they can sell an item. I can see this helping in some cases, and backfiring in others. Fascinating, though. — — So you’re saying porridge isn’t popular? […]

April 4, 2011 | Posted in Composting, Institutional, International, School | Comments closed